NYCT gears up for subway flood protection project in Queens

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) today unveiled a flood protection project for rail operations facilities on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens.

Crews will construct a perimeter flood wall, flood gates and a new compressor building within the protected site, NYCT officials said in a press release.

The Rockaway Peninsula facilities include a power substation, signal tower, signal compressor and hydraulic rooms, circuit breaker houses, and crew quarters.

Although the substation and equipment weren't damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the peninsula is in a flood zone that's vulnerable to major storms. Sandy's storm surge dumped debris over the tracks and destroyed hundreds of feet of the A Line mainline connection between Howard Beach and the Rockaway Peninsula.

NYCT aims to take a "proactive approach" to its resiliency efforts to ensure the long-term safety of the facilities in the face of future extreme storms, agency officials said.

The project will begin April 9 and continue through September.

"As we have seen time and time again, our subway system is impacted by the forces of nature," said NYCT President Andy Byford. "Just as our employees work around the clock to clean up after a storm, we must also proactively protect our infrastructure."

To learn about NYCT's other resiliency efforts in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, read this story from Progressive Railroading's November 2016 issue.